Us Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner held hastily arranged talks yesterday with a top Chinese finance official amid currency tensions after a weekend pledge by finance leaders to rebalance the global economy.

The governments said Geithner and Vice Premier Wang Qishan exchanged views on US-Chinese economic relations at an airport in the eastern city of Qingdao but no details were released. They said the two also discussed preparations for a Nov. 11-12 meeting of leaders of the Group of 20 major economies.

Beijing faces mounting pressure from US lawmakers to ease controls they say hold down its yuan currency, boosting China’s trade surplus and costing American jobs. Legislation passed Sept. 30 by the US House of Representatives would allow Washington to sanction governments that manipulate their currency for trade advantage. The Senate is due to take up the measure after November elections.